1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable, folding, vehicle-mountable observation tower that can be attached to a moving vehicle and safely permit a user to be positioned on the tower. More particularly, this invention relates to such a tower which can be releasably mounted to the cargo portion of any standard pickup truck without requiring any modification to the truck and which allows substantially full cargo capacity, whether the tower is in an up position or a folded and stored away position.
2. Description of Related Art
The prior art discloses a variety of collapsible towers typically used by hunters as towers which are secured to a moving vehicle, such as an ATV. Examples of various collapsible tower arrangements are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,800,986 and 5,409,081. The prior art also discloses various collapsible towers which are basically towed units. Illustrations of this kind of collapsible tower are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,442,919, 5,862,827, and 6,347,684 B1.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,839 illustrates one example of a collapsible hunter's stand that is mounted in a truck bed or within the cargo area of a pickup truck. One obvious disadvantage of the mobile hunter's stand illustrated in this patent is clearly illustrated on the front page of the patent, where it is obvious that the stand or collapsible tower, when in an extended (usable) position, takes up some of the available space within the cargo area of the truck. This is one of the specific disadvantages that the features of the present invention seek to overcome.